U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,445 to Veazey divulges “Distress signal kits comprise a parafoil for carrying aloft various emergency or distress signals particularly radar reflective materials, . . . ”. However, there is no indication of an implementation for conventional parachutes. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,940,023 to Hintzke et al., discloses a “Parachute apparatus having enhanced radar reflective characteristics”, where “ . . . a radar reflective member 26 is preferably positioned attached to the suspension members 16.” The invention of Hintzke et al. permits to implement a radar reflector of a size limited by the space between the suspension members 16, and therefore, of restricted radar cross-section (RCS). Such a small radar reflector is not able to fake a large target.
It would thus be advantageous to provide a parachuted radar reflector taking advantage of the space available in the interior of the canopy of a parachute without impairing aerodynamic properties, to implement a radar decoy simulating large targets.
As a solution, advantage is taken of the space available in the interior of the canopy and of the space adjacent the air-inlet opening of the parachute, providing for a large size decoy simulating a large target.
The term decoy is used below to indicate a decoy simulating a large target by providing a large radar cross-section.